Who Are United Methodists?
A covenant people – When you join a United Methodist congregation, you become a member of the United Methodist connection. Members promise God and the congregation to uphold the church with their prayers, presence, gifts and service.
A diverse community – The United Methodist Church was formed when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968. United Methodists trace their spiritual heritage back to 18th century leaders including John and Charles Wesley, Jacob Albright, Philip Otterbein, Martin Boehm and Francis Asbury.
All persons are welcome in the United Methodist Church. We are committed in inclusiveness. Celebrating a diversity of people, ideas and cultures, we are enriched by our history. We are a global church. Our beautiful sanctuary was built in 1854, the congregation actually coming together for Christ in Newark in 1805.
FIRST UNITED METH0DIST CHURCH, Newark, NY – (Taken from the 1975 church “Yearbook”)
In 1805 Rev. Roger Benton, “remembering the beautiful country near the Ganargau Creek,” bought 100 acres of land from the William Pultney Company of Geneva. At that time not a tree had been felled in this vicinity and Newark had no local habitation or name, so it is interesting to note from our records that this deed was signed by Lord Newark.
Rev. Benton, a retired circuit preacher in the Genesee Circuit, which dated back to 1796, built himself a log house near what is now North Main Street, making one room especially large where the early settlers congregated regularly for seven years for public preaching and social meetings.
The second meeting place and first church was built on the Benton farm near where the Willow Avenue Cemetery now is and was constructed by the members with spare time labor and holding bees. The frame was raised on October 1, 1815 under the circuit pastorate of Rev. Daniel Barnes. The edifice was dedicated June 22, 1816 by Roger Benton, Jeremiah Lusk, the families of Luce, Stansell, Ezra Lambright, Henry Cronise, along with the names of Winter, Aldrich, Crommett, Fosgate, Bostwick and Hickey.
There have been four church buildings built or rededicated on the present site. “The Old White Church”, as the first one was known, was dedicated on September 20, 1827 by the Rev. John Dempster. The preacher at the time was Rev. Israel Chamberlain and the choir was led by Pinkham Crommett. Members at that time included Roger Benton, John L. Kipp, Henry Cronise, Minor Trowbridge, L. Bostwick, William Stansell, Pinkham Crommett, Oliver Morley, and Joseph Miller, who gave the land for the church.
In 1854, under Rev. J.K. Tuttle, the nucleus of the present church was built and was dedicated in June 1856 by Bishop Matthew Simpson. Trustees at that time were Henry Cronise, Peter P. Kechor, Oliver Morley, John W. Benton and L.J. Benton.
The first May Day Celebration was held in 1886 and the annual practice continued until the early 1950’s.
The church building was remodeled, and was rededicated on February 1, 1888 by Dr. Charles N. Sims, Chancellor of Syracuse University.
The present church building was remodeled in 1915 when the Sunday School portion was built. The corner stone was laid while Rev. Alfred Saxe was pastor. The sanctuary was remodeled in 1924 during the pastorate of Rev. Bishop William Burt and Dr. L.S. Boyd, District Superintendent officiating. A very complete history of the church and this dedication were printed in the January 24, 1924 issue of the Newark Courier.
In 1954 Rev. Howard Adamy was pastor when the interior of the church building was renovated. The large main floor Sunday School room was converted into a Church Office, Chapel and lounge on the main floor and large recreation room on the second floor. A new heating system was installed, a new roof was put on the church building and all the building was redecorated. The total cost was $180,000.
During the seven years following 1963 when John Lewien was pastor, there was a strong emphasis on membership, youth work and Christian Education. During these years Colgate Rochester Divinity School students, Clint Barlow ad Stewart Mitchell, and retired minister, Clyde Rosekrans, served as part-time assistant pastor. Mr. Lewien had a stroke early in the last year of his pastorate and the members rallied to carry on the church’s programs during his convalescence.
In 1968 the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Bretheran Church joined in a national merger to form the United Methodist Church. So thereafter First United Methodist Church has enjoyed the relationship with Emmanuel United Methodist Church as a sister congregation in Newark.
In 1970 James LeGro was appointed pastor. His relaxed style and emphasis on personal relationships and creative worship forms marked a much-discussed and generally well-received transition. Our present membership is 875 (at the time of the writing of the 1975 church Yearbook) and constantly changing. Our aim is to minister to the needs of our members in the midst of a world of changing values and economic uncertainty and to extend a hand of love and hope to the community and world around us.
PASTORS OF FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: Among early itinerants who preached was Roger Benton, in whose log house services were held for some years. The first regularly appointed preacher was Lawrence Riley, 1805. The names of the men from this time on are unknown until 1829. It is known that Seth Mattison preached occasionally in the Benton Woods.
| John B. Alverson | 1829-32 | Dr. Watson | 1891-92 | |
| Dennison Smith | 1832-33 | J. Crowe | 1892-93 | |
| William J. Kent | 1833-34 | J.E. Allen | 1893-98 | |
| T.J. Buck | 1834-35 | H.C. Mover | 1898-1903 | |
| Jonathan Heustis | 1835-36 | C.M. Eddy | 1903-04 | |
| DeForest Parsons | 1836-37 | Dr. Copeland | 1904-09 | |
| Jonas Dodge | 1837-39 | Ward Mosher | 1909-11 | |
| William P. Davis | 1939-41 | Eli Pittman | 1911-13 | |
| H.N. Seiver | 1841-43 | C.M. Eddy | 1913-14 | |
| Philo Woodworth | 1843-44 | A.J. Saxe | 1914-18 | |
| Israel Kellogg | 1844-45 | Frank A. Boyd | 1918-26 | |
| Johathan Watts | 1845-47 | Bruce E. Pierce | 1926-29 | |
| Daniel S. Chase | 1847-49 | H.G. Stearns | 1929-35 | |
| C.L. Bowen | 1849-51 | Howard Andrews | 1935-40 | |
| I.K. Tuttle | 1851-53 | Cyril Winkworth | 1940-45 | |
| John Dennis | 1853-55 | Benjamin Rowe | 1945-54 | |
| Dr. Hogaboom | 1855-59 | Howard E. Adamy | 1954-63 | |
| Dr. Sutherland | 1859-61 | John W. Lewien | 1963-70 | |
| David Nutten | 1861-63 | James M. LeGro | 1970-76 | |
| Otis L. Gibson | 1863-65 | Gilbert Mitchell | 1976-85 | |
| Dr. D.D. Buck | 1865-67 | Herbert Hoskins | 1985-90 | |
| G. VanAlstyne | 1867-70 | Rhonda Kouterick | 1990-98 | |
| William Manning | 1870-72 | Elton Smith | 1998-2005 | |
| F.H. Stanton | 1872-74 | Roger Smith | 2005-14 | |
| J.V. Benham | 1875-77 | Robin Blair | 2014-15 | |
| L.F. Condon | 1877-81 | Hyun Joo Yang | 2015-19 | |
| W.R. Banham | 1881-82 | Patience Kisakye | 2019-21 | |
| A.J. Kenyon | 1882-85 | David Herrmann | 2021- | |
| J.C. Nichols | 1885-88 | |||
| C.H. Wright | 1888-91 |
Here is an interesting article from our archives written by Dorothy Quance Lookup on November 22, 1991 … “We Remember … the M.E. Church”:
“I joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1920 – the year I entered High School. I have rather faint memories of the church as the building was then. There were three doors into the church from South Main Street. The sanctuary floor was level with the aisles going from Main Street back, parallel with High Street. The altar was at the west side and there was a door to the right leading to rooms behind the sanctuary. The choir loft was also at the right of the altar, next to that door. The pipe organ was against the High Street wall.
My parents were married in 1896 by Reverend J.E. Allen who was pastor of the church from 1893 to 1898. The Allens were the first family to live in the present parsonage just south of the church. My father and mother, Wilbur and Mary Wooster Quance, both sang in the choir. They also belonged to a group of young couples who sang in the choir and who met at each other’s homes during the week just to enjoy an evening of music. I remember as a small child being taken to some of these musical evenings.
Mother was reputed to be a good cook and I remember she was usually in charge of the church suppers.
Behind the sanctuary of the church was a gymnasium, in the area where the present Fireplace Room is, near the entrance from High Street. I belonged to one of the early Girl Scout troops of which Arlene Vary was leader. Girl Scouts and many young people played basketball in this recreation room.
The parsonage family I remember best was the Reverend Frank Boyd’s. They were in Newark from 1918-1926. Members of the family were Frank and Rube (Mrs. Boyd), and children, Edgar, Lucile, Evelyn, Barbara and Donald. There was a very active young people’s group. We spent Sunday afternoons popping corn and making fudge at their parsonage home.
Reverend Boyd’s brother, Wilbur, was the pastor at the Sodus Methodist Church. He and his wife had two daughters about my age. Reverend Wilbur Boyd used to come over to Newark to some of our Epworth League gatherings, bringing a group of young people from Sodus. One of this group was a young man named Lynn Waldorf who later transferred his membership from Sodus to Newark on December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
In the days of my youth, television was not even thought of and radio was just coming into the experimental stage. Edgar Boyd built his own receiving set. I think it was called a “Crystal” set. You had to use earphones to hear it. Edgar had only one set of ear phones. Several of us would sit around the room and pass the ear phones from one to another to listen to Station KDKA Pittsburg. I believe KDKA was the first and only station at that time in the early 1920’s.
In the church history there is an item: 1922 – barn behind the parsonage burned. I saw that fire. I was going home for lunch from the old red brick Washington School at the east end of Maple Court. As I came toward Main Street, I saw flames shooting out of the big barn behind the parsonage. I ran over to the parsonage and found Mrs. Boyd preparing lunch. She hadn’t noticed the fire. So, perhaps I was the first one to see that fire.
I graduated from Newark High School in 1924, went to college, taught school and got married in 1930. George and I lived away from Newark until 1945, so there were several years I was not active in the Newark church. However, I kept my membership all that time except for the ten years we were in Lyons.
Since 1945, George and I have been involved in various church activities. One that stands out in my memory is the Tri-V Sunday School Class for adult couples. I think it was started by Referend Cyril Winkworth but later taken over by Dr. Frank B. Lucas who was teaching the class when we came back to Newark. He was a serious student of the Bible as well as other religions. Dr. Lucas was a wonderful teacher.
Thanksgiving will soon be here, and it’s a time when most of us think back through our years and remember some of the things for which we are thankful.
First of all, we are thankful that there is peace in most of the world and we are working toward a more permanent one.
I am thankful that I was born into a Christian family, have so many caring friends and blessings from belonging to the church. And, most of all I am very thankful for a most loving and devoted family.”
“May this day show we’re grateful when we add up all the sum of the blessings we remember as we count them one by one.” (author unknown)
See the pages under “Worship” for additional information regarding the Sanctuary, Organ, Stained Glass and Music Programs at the First United Methodist church in Newark, NY.
The stained glass speaks the gospel story of the birth of our Savior, attended by angels, shepherds, and most unusually, a child and a woman. The story runs deep in our hearts to affirm God’s people are to receive the gift of grace that comes from the Lord